Sage Johnson - Executive Assistant to the Co-CEOs of Catamount Constructors

Sage · 0:00

Hello, my name is Sage Johnson. I'm excited to share my story, and today's leadership quote comes from Oprah Winfrey. When you choose the paradigm of service, looking at life through that paradigm, it turns everything you do from a job into a gift.

Speaker 3 · 0:27

The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jeremy · 0:34

Thank you Are you tasked with ordering food for your office? Let me tell you about Easy Cater. With over 100,000 restaurants to choose from nationwide and 24-7 customer support, Easy Cater helps assistants like you and me succeed at work and makes our lives easier. Visit easycater.com/leaderassistant to find out more. Hey friends, welcome to The Leader Assistant Podcast. It's your host, Jeremy Burrows, and it's episode 252. And you can check out the show notes at Leader assistant.com/252, Leader assistant.com/252. Today, I'm excited to be speaking with Sage Johnson. Sage is in the Colorado area. Is that right, Sage? Denver area?

Sage · 1:33

That's correct. Denver seems to be a big city, but we all just say we're from Denver at that point.

Jeremy · 1:41

Yeah, by the mountains.

Sage · 1:43

Yes, exactly. Exactly.

Jeremy · 1:45

Awesome. Well, welcome to the show. You've been an assistant for, what, over seven or eight years? Is that right?

Sage · 1:52

Yes, that's correct. Yeah, I've worked in administrative functions really since I started working. And, you know, had a different growth path than, you know, most of my colleagues. And, you know, I'm getting to a point in my EA career where I would just love to share my story of, you know, how I've gotten to, you know, this level and contributing to a company at this level. So thank you for giving me this platform. And, you know, I'm a little starstruck, you know, just being on your podcast, because I'm a huge fan of yours, Jeremy. You know, you, I read your Leader Assistant book and, you know, got a lot from that. And then, you know, just continued to learn and, you know, like we were talking before, just making sure I'm, you know, having that learning mindset and utilizing that time, you know, either on walks to to really expand my knowledge. I think you can learn something from pretty much anyone at this point.

Jeremy · 3:03

Yeah. Well, it's great to have you on the show. Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you found the book helpful. And, yeah, I want to jump right in. So let's let's talk just real quick. Do you have pets, hobbies, which, you know, what's your favorite thing to do in Colorado?

Sage · 3:25

Yeah. So I'm a mom of two boys.

Jeremy · 3:30

I'm a dad of two boys.

Sage · 3:31

I like boy team. They are wild. But they really are my purpose and what gets me up every day, you know, whether it's me or them. And I have three dogs. They are feral, just like my boys. And so we live in a really happy home. I have my wonderful husband by my side, and we just bought this house earlier this year. And so we're kind of figuring out what home ownership is like. But yeah, and so some hobbies that we love. So again, just a little bit different of a growth path. I'm fairly tall, six foot. And so when people meet me, they ask, okay, did you play basketball or volleyball? And my answer was always no. I made a lot of coaches mad. I can tell you that. But I actually grew up riding motocross. And, you know, my dad, he owns his own auto glass company. And so kind of grew up in a shop, you know, around dirt bikes. And then that, you know, passion is now communicated to cars. And so my husband and I, we love working on cars and, you know, really, we just love the car community here in Colorado. You know, we're one big family. And so that's really how we spend our time is in the garage and, you know, having the two boys out there and enjoying, you know, just the family time, you know, getting our hands dirty and, you know, learning new things.

Jeremy · 5:25

So that's great. How old are your boys?

Sage · 5:28

Yeah. My oldest is seven and my youngest just turned six. So, okay, they're very close in age. So they keep me on my toes.

Jeremy · 5:38

That's awesome. Yeah. Mine. Mine are. Let's see. Just turned 10 and almost 12. So they're pretty close to. Yeah. It's it's a fun time. What? So I got to ask about the car thing. So what's your current project in your garage as far as, you know, are you upgrading something? Are you, you know, rebuilding something?

Sage · 6:01

Yeah. Well, I don't have any projects of my own. Currently, my husband is the the project guy. He has an Evo 8. So amidst Mitsubishi Evo 8. So he's currently working on that, making it faster. He has to replace a clutch, you know, from it kind of getting beaten on. But we also have an FC RX-7, which is pretty cool. You don't see those everywhere. And we actually took out the rotary motor and we are replacing it with an LS motor. So we're going to make a lot of Mazda people upset, you know, taking out the rotary motor and replacing it with an American, you know, Chevy engine. But that's we don't like to be purists. We like to kind of have fun and figure out, you know, what the car can do. And that's really what I love about cars is just the ingenuity and the creative solutions to make it go fast and work well.

Jeremy · 7:16

Yeah, that's awesome. So I understood about half of the car stuff, you know.

Sage · 7:23

No worries.

Jeremy · 7:25

But I still appreciate it, enjoy it. I had friends growing up who were always working on cars.

Sage · 7:30

Yeah, yeah.

Jeremy · 7:32

But that's awesome. And it's got to be great for the boys to learn all that stuff. And yes, really just even just the simple lesson of figuring something out with your hands. You know, it's such a good, good skill to have. So that's great.

Sage · 7:45

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, the boys love it. I'm definitely a boy mom at the end of the day, a little bit more of a tomboy than anything else.

Jeremy · 7:56

So, okay. So then how did you end up in The Assistant?

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Sage · 8:42

Yeah, yeah. So, my childhood, you know, a little bit more challenging than others wouldn't say it's the worst, can't ever say it's the worst childhood, right? But when I got out of high school, really didn't have a direction to take. And so what I did is I just went out and I started working. I started working in a restaurant at the age of 18 as a server, right? And so as a server, you're kind of balancing people's needs. It's when you're busy, it's high intensity. But I just absolutely love that, that job of just really making an experience for people. And, you know, really giving that hospitality. And, you know, it just, you can definitely sense a difference when a server cares. And so I, I keyed into this. And then shortly after I started, there was a assistant general manager position open. And so this is really what, where I wanted to get into is just these micro opportunities that kind of present themselves in front of you. Don't be afraid of them, right? So I was young, just out of high school, don't have any management experience, but I really felt that I could do it. So I went to, you know, my GM and I said, I would love to try to be your assistant manager. And he said, let's do it. So that's really my first experience of managing a restaurant, managing people, schedules, a P&L. And then I actually got so good at it that they promoted me. And I became a GM in training. So I trained under another GM for about two months. And then they handed me the keys and said, don't mess up. So I was about 20 years old, you know, promoted to a general manager and had to really figure it out on the fly. I made a lot of mistakes, right? But I, you know, you quickly learn from them, you know, even as far as managing people and the complexity that goes into that, especially when you're so young. So I love that I did that for about four years. And I really attribute those years to, you know, my college experience because, you know, it taught me so much and it was real life application. But after the four years, I found out I was going to be a mom and the long hours and not really having any time off or a break was not conducive to being, you know, to be the mom that I wanted to be. I always knew I wanted to be a very involved and supportive mother. So I told the restaurant I'm not coming back and I didn't really have a plan, which is, you know, just looking back. You're like, what were you doing? What were you thinking? And so once I was finished with my maternity leave, I found this small welding shop and they needed an office manager. And I was like, oh, well, I can do that. So it was a shop of about 15 guys, and I worked under the president. So again, managing P&L, kind of did HR functions. And then this is when I was introduced to construction and overall how construction works from, you know, the bidding process to then, you know, going out and, you know, looking at the work that needs to be done to then pricing, securing with contract, and then executing on the work and then accounting for it. So and then the HR functions. And so I saw this this flow, and I just I started to fall in love with construction. And, you know, just one thing I love is you can see the things that you're building, you know, in real life. And unfortunately, at that point, they eliminated my position, and I was laid off, and I found out I was pregnant with my second child. So hit the ground. Yeah, yeah, it was not good timing. But, you know, when you're in pressurized situations, it's kind of amazing what you can do. So I found another construction company. It was a large electrical contractor, definitely the biggest company I was applying for. I was nervous, didn't know if I was going to secure the job, and they hired me as the HR Safety Assistant, and I was beyond grateful. So got through my second baby and the maternity leave there. I quickly moved up to a workers' comp and leave administrator, and that was not a fun side of the job. I'll tell you that right now. Yeah, being that HR Safety Assistant, because I got the fun side of people, now I'm kind of managing workers' comp, and not the most fun part of the business. But again, I just believe in really putting your head down, working as hard as you can, and just kind of squeezing the juice out of every opportunity you fall into and learning as much as you can. And so with that, the EA, the CEO at the company left, and the CEO needed a quick replacement, and he believed in home growing his EAs. So without any executive level assisting, he offered me the position and I was kind of taken back. I didn't know what the job entailed or what it would look like. And so he said, you know, we're going to figure this out together. You know, we'll just you ask as much as many questions as you need to. You know, and so really what he did is he trained me to be an EA. He was so good at utilizing an executive assistant that he could actually train me to be an EA and be at the level that he wanted me to be at. However, I knew that I needed a little bit more of an advantage now being on the executive level. I kind of felt like a fish out of water. So I was like, I need to get some education in this space. And then I found the International Association of Administrative Professionals. So I'm a member there and I saw that they had a certification course and I jumped on it. And it was really, it was a great experience because it taught me everything that goes into being an EA. And it was eye opening, you know, as to how much an EA does. And I didn't realize it, but I got certified and it really gave me kind of like that leg up, where I had that knowledge base to kind of then grow from there. And then I just started falling in love with being an EA and kind of being that business partner to my boss. And I just thought it was interesting because when you become an EA, the whole perspective of the company changes. You now are on a bird's eye level, right? So you see all of the inner workings, all of the processes and procedures at the top. And so I saw that there was an opportunity to make this position as an executive assistant at that company. One, I wanted to be the different one. I wanted to really change the perception of what an EA does at that company. So I started working really hard of making sure processes were efficient, adding processes within my relationship with my executive that really worked out in our benefit. And again, just I loved the EA space because you're exposed to all of these intelligent, high level people that you can just, I mean, if you just sit back and you give yourself the opportunity to just listen and observe, it's pretty amazing all that you learn within the position. And so I ended up creating some processes for the future EAs at that company. And kind of trailblazed this new level of executive administration. I saw that it was much more than what people think of, well, you're just kind of that glorified coffee getter. It's really you're managing the entire tempo of the company and how your executive works within that company. And I saw that it was quite the responsibility. So I grabbed on to it, and I just enjoyed every minute of it. And so shortly after, no, I was in the position of being his EA for about two years, and I had an aerospace and defense company contact me, right? And I've learned, you know, always investigate every opportunity that comes to you, right? There has to be a reason. And so when I interviewed with this company, they had this beautiful office, you know, it's aerospace and defense, so it's very white collar, a different culture than I was used to working in construction. But I was like, you know, this is going to expose me into a whole different realm of executive administration. So again, falling into that opportunity. But what I learned from that opportunity is sometimes things just don't click, you know, if it's, you know, it may have a shiny office and, you know, all the new tech. However, if you don't align with the culture and the values, you're really doing yourself and the company a disservice, right? I just I found myself unhappy. And at that point in my career, I just I didn't know how to advocate for myself and what I needed in that position. I ultimately knew it was just not a good fit. So I just put it simple as that, you know, this, this isn't a good fit. I think, you know, we should find a better opportunity. You should find, you know, the level of assistant that you need. Right. Because I I'm looking to move up and beyond my current capabilities. I've been told that I can be a little bit too eager or impatient. I just I love growing and learning and kind of pushing myself into new opportunities. And so I ended up going back to the electrical contracting company. Right. Safe place. I know it. I know the people. It was kind of like home for me. But then I was again. I was just like, I'm not pushing myself to this next level. What that next level is, I don't know. But, you know, I just so I worked diligently there, you know, still maintain the processes. And then I had a startup tech company contact me. And they said, you have a great resume. We would love to interview you. And I was like, I've never worked in the tech space. So maybe this is that opportunity where it's going to push me, you know, out of my comfort zone and working for a startup. You kind of have to roll up your sleeves and, you know, figure out processes and procedures on the fly. And it was a whole different world as far as, you know, the vernacular and, you know, how people worked. And, you know, it was after COVID. And so, again, definitely a different culture, different executive. He was the youngest executive I've ever worked for. And we were really good friends. But then I just started to sense, like, I don't think this is a good fit for me in a way where I just didn't feel as aligned. And, you know, so through these opportunities, it's funny because now you can reflect. And hindsight is always 20-20 where you're like, well, I wish I would have done that. I wish I would have done this. However, I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't take that opportunity, right? So, you know, really just seething these opportunities and kind of just going for it. Now, you have to be calculated when you have kids. But, you know, I just went for it. But then the reality sank in and I called the spade a spade. So I identified I'm at a higher level. I'm eager. I want to grow. And what they need is, you know, an assistant that is very comfortable with the level that they're at. And I just knew, you know, they, again, they needed to find a good fit for an EA, and I needed to find the next opportunity. So how I found myself at Catamount, my current position, even working for the co-CEOs, it's a funny story. So this, the co-CEO, James Benning, he was writing me on LinkedIn when I was going to the startup company, trying to source. He just moved to the market, the Denver market, and he was trying to get some tabs on how much do EAs, you know, kind of get paid in the market, what level. So I was helping him kind of figure out what type of EA that they need. And so a few months after that, and I was probably at the startup company for about six months, he reached back out and he said, hey, just want to check in with you, see how's it going? And I said, you know, it's good. Did you select your EA? I was actually really excited to hear it. And he said, no, we were about to, but we unfortunately had to decline as we just saw some things that possibly could have been red flags for us. And so I just had this feeling. I was like, can I put my name in the hat? Can I put my name in to be considered for this opportunity? I have the construction experience, I should mention that Catamount is a general contractor on a national level. And so I was like, okay, well, I'm going to go back to my construction space. This is a general contracting level. So it's the next level up, you know, versus the specialty area. And James had a phone interview with me and he said, you check all the boxes. And I kind of went down the interview process. And then I interviewed with my other co-CEO, Tom Seaman. And he was tougher. He was definitely the tougher interview. But I could tell that these are two executives that I would love to work for. And the other part of this opportunity was I would be the first EA to ever work for Catamount. And Catamount was founded in 1997. So it's definitely a culture of you do it yourself and you get stuff done. But James Benning, the co-CEO, is very used to working with an EA. And he said, I need an EA now. So through I started at Catamount last year, December 30th. And so I've really throughout this year, it's pressured me because I've had to be very patient with the integration process. You know, I'm used to coming in at a higher level. I kind of had to play at a level where just to get the company used to the whole concept of what an EA is and what we do. So there's a lot of relationship building, you know, soft skills, heavy soft skills of, you know, just this is who I am. This is how, you know, I said, I'm not going to come in and change everything. I'm not going to be this gatekeeper. My objective is to elevate Tom and James so they can do their best work. Right. And so it's been a wonderful experience throughout the course of this year to see the way I've integrated into the company. And people are starting to understand the true value that an EA can bring. And so that's how I've gotten to my position here today of working for two co-CEOs. And it was a fun ride. But, you know, so really what I wanted to highlight is there's these micro opportunities that present themselves to you and they feel scary. They kind of give you the butterflies. You don't want to do it. And when I have those feelings, I know I need to go for it. For example, this podcast, right, where I was nervous. I was like, I don't know. I don't know if I could do this. This is my first podcast. But I was like, you know what, Sage, go for it. Go for it. And so, you know, as, as long as you're pushing yourself and reflecting on your past experiences and figuring out how you can grow from there, it's just you're on this journey where it's just constant improvement. You know, I've learned so much just within this last year of how complicated it can be to be an EA, especially integrating into a company that doesn't know what an EA is.

Jeremy · 31:07

What's the, so the co-CEO thing, how's that been? Is there like, you know, I want to touch on like the importance of representing your executive well, but now you're representing two executives well.

Sage · 31:18

Yeah, yeah. So.

Jeremy · 31:21

And not just two executives, but two CEOs.

Sage · 31:24

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no pressure. So to say that it was simple would would be a lie. You know, representing your your CEO is, you know, it's just one of those. It's one of those must haves in every EA, right? We are an extension of our executive and how we portray ourselves, how we react to things, how we handle things under stress, especially directly reflect our CEO. You know, I'm I'm listening to that book. You suggested the 29-hour workday. Love it, by the way. Highly suggest everybody else listens to it. But they they talk about how the EA has that velvet. No. Right. Of the in a way to like guard their time, that velvet. And, you know, in a way, you're kind of giving. You're working with the people to make the work make sense for everybody. Right. You know, and so it's it's really how, even how you portray yourself in your personal life as well. I am adamant about being professional on all your social media platforms, because that, again, tells a lot about who you are and, you know, what you do on your free time. And I think, you know, as EA's, we have that responsibility to show up the best for our executive and the company. Right. And so I really highlight that as being a big responsibility for executive assistance, because we're representing these high level executives. And when we don't represent them well, it's just doing the company a disservice. So when it comes to representing co-CEOs, you know, it's you have to cut. So really it was it was all learning. James, like I mentioned, he's he's used to having an EA. So when I started, it was like we clicked. It was a lock and key. I knew what I needed to do. He knew what he needed to do. It was very natural. And then when it came to Tom, I knew it was going to be a slower process where I, you know, where he kind of just gained that trust. You know, he hands you projects or something to do, and you execute perfectly, right? Or beyond perfect, you know, per, you know, typical EA talk, we really try to strive for the best product. And so, and it's just, it's a dynamic relationship because they're different people. They have different managing styles. And you have to kind of observe the way they work together. And how I view myself is kind of that, that glue, the connective tissue between them. As they're off and running and, you know, taking on the world, I'm kind of helping look forward for them and then do it being the catch all as well. So when I, you know, mentioned that they didn't hire that other EA, it's because how she represented herself online, you know, and so that's it. I can't stress the importance of how you represent yourself because it really speaks to your brand. And, you know, Tom and James really appreciated that I, you know, I held that with such high importance. So, yeah, I mean, it's still learning, right? We're just a year into it. I really see 2024 being, you know, we were in first year, kind of, you know, kind of chugging along in 2023, learning each other, learning systems, processes. But I see, you know, 2024, we're going to kick it into the second year, now that I've learned the company a little bit better and them, right? And I can start seeing where I can, you know, where my influences are, right? And how I can manage certain things or, you know, work behind the scenes. And just kind of my objective right now is efficiency, right? I, as an EA, we're kind of a fly on the wall. And we get to see all of, you know, the dynamics, the politics. You know, we have different relationships with people. And so, you know, we, we just, we have that other perspective. And so, you know, I think the more we kind of provide that perspective for our executives and, you know, pull on some strings of how can I make this process more efficient, you know, and kind of working with your executive. So that another big thing that I've learned this year is it's when you've been and worked for so many companies, what's worked for that company you work for may not work for your new company. Every company has a different DNA, you know, different personality. And so you kind of have to assimilate yourself with the new culture, the new DNA of the new company, but also make sure that you're bringing in innovative ideas, that outside perspective, because once you're in the company for some time, that can be lost. And so I really try to concentrate on, okay, the innovative ideas and the timing, what is the best timing and really checking in with my bosses and making sure I'm not solving an issue that maybe isn't there. Again, with that fly on the wall perspective, you really have to engage and work with your executive to figure out what do they need, what keeps them up at night, because it may be a lot different than what you originally thought or how you were going to execute on a project. And they may make you take a couple steps back, do a little bit more due diligence or they may make you speed up. And so that was also a big learning point for me this year of just my past experiences and being very careful not to apply them to the new company, especially without full knowledge if it would work or not, if that makes sense.

Jeremy · 39:23

Yeah, like not assuming that, oh, this is how I did it before. It's going to work exactly like this.

Sage · 39:28

Exactly.

Jeremy · 39:29

And adapting to the different needs of executives, but also the culture and the environment of that organization.

Sage · 39:37

Right. Because being an EA, it's relational, right? You build relationships with your executive and you create these bonds. And I would say it's the same thing for a company. It's very relational. And you have to kind of figure out how you fit into the bigger. Puzzle and be very aware of how you are executing, how your actions and the possible reaction or ripple effect, right? So I've found the beauty in, you know, when I have an idea or a late night thought, I just jot it down and let it sit. This is where my over eager personality impatience comes through, where I have that I feel like I've solved the world with this idea. But sometimes it doesn't, right? And so sometimes you just got to let your ideas sit. But again, always let those innovative ideas flow through you. And don't be afraid to kind of raise your hand and say, hey, I have a good idea, right? You know, at this point in my career as an EA, I've learned how to advocate for myself and build the respect within the executive group to a point where they will listen to me and hear me out. And so it's not an easy task, right? But it's pretty darn cool when you start working on those higher level projects that increase the company's ROI.

Jeremy · 41:48

Well, that's great, Sage. I mean, this is a lot of fascinating information, and it's just cool to hear your story and how you just maximize these opportunities and jumped at these opportunities and how you're always trying to put yourself out there even with this conversation on the podcast and just say, Oh, should I really do this? I don't know if I want to do this and just doing it and going for it. And even the fact that you took those other opportunities and then it's like, Oh, you know what? This isn't working. And admitting that it wasn't really the right fit and moving on.

Speaker 3 · 42:28

I think it's great.

Sage · 42:29

The self-reflection too, right? So you can learn something from every situation. You can learn something from every person. I don't remember exactly who told me this, but we were talking about a mentorship program and they were saying even if you and your mentor do not align, you are learning something, right? You're learning what you do want, what you don't want. So always look at it from that learning, that silver lining perspective. Okay, so this is a challenging experience, but at the end of this, really, what is the greater lesson? What am I learning with this experience, right? And so again, with Oprah's quote of really just that paradigm of where you view your life in these certain paradigms, and it really changes your perspective, right? So I knew through those companies and the challenges I went through, it helped me become the person that I am today, even though it was challenging, but you can learn from any situation, good or bad, that you're in.

Jeremy · 44:00

Yeah, totally. Awesome, Sage. Well, again, great to chat with you. Congrats on a budding career.

Sage · 44:12

Thank you.

Jeremy · 44:13

And, you know, love to hear different stories from assistants all over the world. Hope everyone listening enjoyed the conversation. And if you want to reach out to Sage, Sage, where should people connect?

Sage · 44:32

LinkedIn is probably the best way to reach me. I believe I have it linked here. So, yep, you're more than welcome to reach out to me. I'm Sage Johnson. I work for Catamount Constructors as the EA to the co-CEOs. I'm always happy to broaden my network and learn from and work with other EAs. So please do not hesitate to reach out to me. But Jeremy, again, I just wanted to thank you for everything that you've done for executive assistants and changing the perspective and the stigma around being an executive assistant and having this platform. It's truly just awe-inspiring what you've accomplished. And so I want to highlight that with you and just say thank you again for everything that you've done for executive assistants, current and future because you've been that change maker for us.

Jeremy · 45:43

Awesome. Thank you Sage for the kind words. Appreciate it. Appreciate the support. And yeah, we'll put your LinkedIn URL in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/252. And thanks again for listening, everyone. And thank you Sage for being on the show. And we'll talk soon. Best of luck.

Sage · 46:02

Thanks everybody. Thank you.

Speaker 4 · 46:15

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